Poor Little Child
by Damned Lolita
Summary: Every world has rules you must follow. Especially this one.


(Hi everyone~ Happy Halloween! I know I've been on hiatus, but in my defense, I AM working on a massive KH fic. It's already really long, and will probably be updated--after NaNo.

See, this--this oneshot--is the precursor to an idea I had a few days ago. If you, my loyal and beleagured reviewers, think it's worth continuing, PLEASE say so in your reviews. I don't normally ask, but PLEASE. If so, it's going to be my NaNo fic. If not, I'll do something else, but...Would you like it? Would it be worth it? Don't own Pokemon, own the nameless girl featured.)

* * *

The girl moved through the undergrowth with a predator's care and speed. She fingered the set of Pokeballs on her belt, and felt some comfort when they hummed in her hand's grasp. She knew she shouldn't...be here right now. She knew it was dangerous, Lavender Town. The whole place was...haunted.

But Fuji had answers. Oh yes, he did. According to Giovanni, he had answers. So she crept up through the grass and stepped warily into the city limits. She debated calling out her Charmeleon, but decided against it. Better not to be challenged to a battle right now. A man walked up to her, his face forgettable and plain.

"Do you believe in ghosts?" He said. "Yes or no?" She blinked.

"Yes." She said. This place could make her believe anything. He didn't show any emotion, just replied, "Huh. I guess there are still some believers." She turned away, and kept walking. The tower stood above her, looming in her line of sight. She walked through the door, and watched people mill about. Their demeanor spoke of sadness, but their words were fake, flat. She shivered, and as she went up the first steps to the top, called out her first Pokemon--Charmeleon. Her name was December, for no apparent reason other than that had been her favorite month...before she had stopped remembering what real had been. December was her last link to it.

The Charmeleon took her master's hand in her paw. She smiled gratefully, and walked up the steps. Blue had disappeared long ago--she'd known he was going to be here, and had fought him previously. She encountered a few Ghastly before her first Channeler--December blasted them away with little effort.

She knew the battle was coming, but she still jumped. The Channeler groaned, "Give...me...blood..." before the world flashed white in her eyes and a Ghastly floated in front of her. December finished it with an Ember, and then the Channeler groaned, apparently freed of "possession", according to her. She slumped against a gravestone, and sat there, motionless. The girl knew what was wrong, but also knew nothing could be done. She beckoned to December, and the two moved forward and up the stairs.

She fought both Channelers and Ghastly, uncaring as they slumped down on the ground, knowing there was no point in caring. They were gone. She'd whited them out. She went up two more floors, and then stopped. She knew this was where she needed to put the Sliph Scope on. Giovanni had told her. She wouldn't trust him as far as she could throw him, but... She fastened it over her eyes, and as she stepped on that tile, she heard, "_Be gone...intruders..." _

As the wild GHOST appeared and was identified as MAROWAK, her mind suddenly hit her consciousness with an idea.

_What had Giovanni made a pair of goggles to see ghosts for?_

She shook it off. Probably just him following the 'rules' of this world. But something still niggled at her. She let it be, and turned to the Marowak. Then, a completely insane occurence, even by this place's standards, happened.

Marowak spoke.

"_Get...out...get...OUT..." _The girl shuddered. She called out her Slowpoke, Sherlock, and ordered a Water Gun. The Slowpoke happily obliged. The Marowak deflected it with her bone staff, and glared--actually _glared--_at the girl. She blinked in surprise.

"_GET OUT...GET OUT..." _Both the girl and Sherlock glared back.

"Why? Why, why, WHY?" She spoke, surprised that she could--but of course, towards both Pokemon and Giovanni, she had been able to carry on a conversaton...The Marowak shouldered her bone staff.

"_Place not be safe. The man upstairs, he be as bad as the man who kilt me. My babies...my babies. The suit-man kilt my babies, but the doctor-man brought 'bout Silence Bridge." _The girl blinked in surprise.

"What...? Mr. Fuji? But...but...I'm here to save him from Giovanni!" The Marowak snorted.

"_Girl can be stupid sometimes. Cannot...cannot pass to the afterlife...while you are still stupid." _She glared at the Marowak, who managed a small chuckle.

"_Can't be caught, I can't. Balls cannot figure out my data. That is...quite all right. I will come with the stupid girl, and make sure she comes to no harm from the doctor-man or the suit-man." _The girl stared.

"But...but, you can't do that. Giovanni said, this place, it has rules..." Marowak grunted.

"_I be not part of the rules. I am dead." _The girl laughed dryly.

"Right. Well then...why? Why me?" Marowak shrugged.

"_Why anybody?" _

The girl didn't know what to say to that. She recalled Sherlock, and nodded to Marowak. She stepped over the tile, and climbed the steps. Three Rockets stood there, obstructing her path. She let December blast away their Zubats, and Sherlock handled their Sandshrew and Ekans. Marowak floated by, nodding with approval at each Rocket slumped against a grave. She turned to the last one, a Rocket with slightly more defined features who had been keeping Fuji captive.

She beat him in an instant, and moved his slumped form over to look at Fuji. He smiled thinly at her, and said, "Let us go to my house."

* * *

The darkness overtook both of them, and she suddenly found herself standing inside his house. She shuddered at the sensation, and turned to him. He shook his head. "I have made many mistakes. I'm afraid you are paying for them." She tilted her head.

"Mistakes...what mistakes?" He shook his head.

"It's...not something I can explain. You'll need to become far stronger for me to say anything. Take this. It's a Pokeflute. Wake the Snorlax in front of Cycling road, and defeat Koga. Forget Sabrina for the moment--she's not important to your goal. Get the badge, and surf. Go to Cinnabar, and bring all your Pokemon with you. Good lord...forgive me." He turned away from her, weeping quietly. She didn't know what to say.

Fuji turned to her. "When...you get to Fuschia...go to Silence Bridge. Better you...than I. If anything moves, _run. _Do you understand?" She nodded. He turned away again. "Let...let your love for Pokemon guide you. Let your hatred of this world and all its' foolish madness drive you. Do what I couldn't. You...you're on your own." He didn't turn back to her. She left the house.

Marowak grunted in annoyance. "_Fool. Sending a girl to do his work." _The girl had another idea. She walked over the planks of the harbor, and awoke the Snorlax that was there as well. She defeated him quickly with Sherlock, and moved ahead. She knew Fuschia was closer this way. She managed to avoid the jerky movements of the trainers, and moved ahead. A small sign greeted her. _Silence Bridge. _She shrugged, and moved forward. She noticed the Sliph Scope had slipped around her neck, but ignored it and kept moving.

The people here did not move to challenge her. No one did. She shrugged, wondering why this place had worried Fuji so. She made her way through a slightly confusing maze, and left the "bridge". It had just been some fences, but...this place never did make any sense either way.

Then something compelled her to turn back. She didn't know what, but it didn't matter in that instant. She fit the goggles over her head, and stared back at Silence Bridge.

Those fence posts...weren't fence posts, she noted numbly. They were _teeth._

_/My what big teeth you have/_

A yawning, massive void stretched across the entire bridge. Millions and millions of little beetle-eyes blinked at her. She staggered back, and began to scream until her throat was harsh and raw, turning and running. No matter how far she ran away from that damned bridge, it felt like her feet were encased in cement.

* * *

Giovanni felt the bridge shift and open. He sighed, and shook his head.

"Poor, foolish girl." He said, scratching his Persian's head. "Poor, unfortunate child."


End file.
